|
|
Post by ThugSuperstar on Mar 16, 2011 18:17:10 GMT -5
Probably my favorite PPV of all-time. I had watched wrestling on and off before then, but this was the PPV that really got me into wrestling. I remember going to my friend's house with about 3 or 4 other buddies and watching the PPV on the big screen in his living room. We were all marks for the good guys - Austin, D-X, Foley. It was a simple time before we started reading dirt sheets and really reading too much into things. It was a time when we all knew in the back of our minds that wrestling was fixed, yet we still hung on their every word and everybody eagerly waited to see Vince finally get his from Austin.
Anyway, I just rewatched it today in its entirety and it's just amazing how great the writing and characters were back then versus today and even in the last 5 years. You had guys like X-Pac, Road Dogg, Al Snow, etc. who were mid-carders and the fans LOVED them. I mean, they ate up every single thing these guys said and did. Everybody was over in this PPV, everybody. You had three swerves in one PPV (Big Show turning on Vince, Chyna turning on the Corporation and then Triple H and Chyna turning on D-X) - think about that for a second, THREE SWERVES. When was the last time you saw one major swerve happen at a Wrestlemania? X-7?
The writing was phenomenal...you had Rock vs. Austin, maybe the biggest feud in wrestling of all-time. You had Undertaker's satanic feud with Vince that really was the start of the Lord of Darkness character. You had D-X that was insanely over at the time, you had the Corporation that every fan hated - it was just awesome how great the product was back then from Billy Gunn vs. Al Snow vs. Hardcore Holly that started the show all the way to Austin finally recapturing the WWF Title and once and for all topping Vince McMahon after nearly a year of him holding Austin down. It was simply fantastic and watching that show makes me miss and appreciate the wrestling product that I really fell in love with at the time.
That's it, really. The whole point of this post was just reliving the awesomeness and originality of the WWF back in the heyday when you proudly wore a wrestling t-shirt to school and talked openly about how cool wrestling was because it was the "in" thing at the time. I know most of us have gotten way older since the product we fell in love with, but I don't care what anybody tells me - today is not the same. Kids will never mark out the way we all did as kids and never have that type of connection we all did with Stone Cold Steve Austin. It's sad, but it's a sign of the times. Wrestling will simply never be the same that it once was.
|
|
Deleted
Joined on: Nov 17, 2024 10:52:10 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2011 19:59:28 GMT -5
Amen.Austin is THE man.Jesus I started cheering for him in 96 and never stopped.I marked out for him like no one else.
I always say this but when people talk about unexpected heel turns HHHs turn @ WMXV needs to be mentioned.
NOBODY seen this coming.
|
|
|
|
Post by ThugSuperstar on Mar 16, 2011 20:05:27 GMT -5
Amen.Austin is THE man.Jesus I started cheering for him in 96 and never stopped.I marked out for him like no one else. I always say this but when people talk about unexpected heel turns HHHs turn @ WMXV needs to be mentioned. NOBODY seen this coming. I agree. I mean, by the time someone turns heel in wrestling today it's like 4 weeks past the point where EVERYONE knows he's going to turn. Wrestlemania 15 was so great, you had back-to-back swerves and nobody expected either of them. |
|
|
|
Post by ztj_wwf on Mar 16, 2011 20:06:08 GMT -5
Sorry, but are you kidding? Wrestlemania 15 was by far one of the absolute worst Wrestlemanias of all time. One good match, that's it. Everything else was mediocre at very best, or sucked. But I can understand why it is special to you, as it is what got you into wrestling. And you are obviously correct on your main point, being the fact that the storylines, characters, etc. of the time were amazing. Nothing will beat the Attitude Era!
|
|
|
|
Post by †hê Jå§ðñ Wïllïåm§ on Mar 16, 2011 20:08:11 GMT -5
Sorry, but are you kidding? Wrestlemania 15 was by far one of the absolute worst Wrestlemanias of all time. One good match, that's it. Everything else was mediocre at very best, or sucked. But I can understand why it is special to you, as it is what got you into wrestling. And you are obviously correct on your main point, being the fact that the storylines, characters, etc. of the time were amazing. Nothing will beat the Attitude Era! It's his opinion,  off. You just don't come into a thread and decide to go "Are you kidding me?", that really shows your character. |
|
|
|
Post by ThugSuperstar on Mar 16, 2011 20:11:50 GMT -5
Sorry, but are you kidding? Wrestlemania 15 was by far one of the absolute worst Wrestlemanias of all time. One good match, that's it. Everything else was mediocre at very best, or sucked. But I can understand why it is special to you, as it is what got you into wrestling. And you are obviously correct on your main point, being the fact that the storylines, characters, etc. of the time were amazing. Nothing will beat the Attitude Era! I disagree completely. If you're talking about pure wrestling matches, then Wrestlemania 15 isn't for you. But the characters, the storylines and all the buildup that went into every single match were just phenomenal. |
|
dante123
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 28, 2009 13:04:39 GMT -5
Posts: 2,422
|
Post by dante123 on Mar 16, 2011 21:47:01 GMT -5
wrestlemania 15 had that attitude era feel right into it.
|
|
|
|
Post by tnafan17: The Total Package on Mar 17, 2011 8:53:46 GMT -5
Another WM I really like. Couldn't agree with you more. Every storyline back then fit right into place and made sense. You had fueds that were built up for a while, compared to today when you have one that accumulates the week of the PPV.
|
|
|
|
Post by Himmy! on Mar 17, 2011 8:58:35 GMT -5
Loved WM 15, one of the first VHS I actually bought, and I agree it had all the great characters of the attitude era. Enjoyable matches too, only poor one being Undertaker vs Boss Man. The HIAC erased from history haha...
|
|
|
|
Post by K5 on Mar 17, 2011 11:58:02 GMT -5
i agree that wrestlemania 15 is a nice showing of 'things to come'. i personally love 14 more, but 15 has it's moments.
bigshow chokeslamming mankind threw those chairs was sick too.
|
|
|
|
Post by sean™ on Mar 17, 2011 11:59:48 GMT -5
I felt the same way when I went back and watched WM 23 last night. Watching the True Story of WM DVD made me want to go back and watch ones that I have.
|
|
|
|
Post by clarity on Mar 17, 2011 12:03:04 GMT -5
Horrible Wrestlemania in my opinion. Russo didnt have a clue what he was doing in regards to the intercontinental and hardcore title, the swerves were completely stupid, the hiac was completely horrible, and austin and rock had many better matches.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Orange on Mar 17, 2011 15:25:32 GMT -5
Everyone bought the show to see Austin/Rock, so in that regards it delivered big time. I wasn't too hot on much of anything else from the show but it is a fun one to watch every now and then. Bart Gunn getting KTFO'd was badddd. Damn he was out.
Undertaker's appearance was also a big thing I remember. He looked so badass there it was crazy. Plus hanging BossMan, while maybe not the best thing to do, was a unique visual we'll never see again
|
|
|
|
Post by mikey1974 on Mar 17, 2011 18:07:25 GMT -5
i honestly fell asleep while watching it live!
it had a GREAT main event,but to me the undercard was severely lacking....not in potential, but in execution....other than the whole DX swerves ,nothing to me really stood out....
honestly,there were parts of 1999 in general that just bored me....
|
|
|
|
Post by ThugSuperstar on Mar 17, 2011 18:43:00 GMT -5
Horrible Wrestlemania in my opinion. Russo didnt have a clue what he was doing in regards to the intercontinental and hardcore title, the swerves were completely stupid, the hiac was completely horrible, and austin and rock had many better matches. How did he not have a clue what he was doing? People like to sh*t on Russo all the time and don't give the guy credit where it's due. The writing in 1998-2000 was phenomenal in the WWF and 1999 might've been the best of all those years. The Hardcore title match was great and the IC Title match was fun because of all the mini storylines between Val Venis, Shamrock, Goldust, Blue Meanie and Ryan Shamrock. Austin and Rock had better matches, yes. Nothing beats Wrestlemania X-7, but their match at Wrestlemania 15 was the culmination of Austin's 6-month quest to win back the WWF Title. The scene with him raising the title belt while stepping on Vince's chest is just awesome and I still mark out when I see it. The HIAC match, I can agree with - every time I watch that HIAC match I'm thoroughly disappointed. It was just awful and they didn't give the match nearly enough time for a HIAC match. But the buildup that went into it and everything that followed the match itself was just fantastic. Taker's satanic character was so great. Vince Russo's time at the WWF was greatly underrated, people just like to think of him as the dumbass that ruined WCW. The guy was still responsible for maybe the most exciting time period in wrestling history as far as popularity, buyrates, ratings, etc. goes. |
|
|
|
Post by The Sexy Psychotic on Mar 18, 2011 4:47:55 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more man, this was my first WrestleMania, I had only been watching for 3 months, 7 years old and was a massive Bossman fan. So yea, I actually like the HIAC match, not just the amazing build-up, but I feel people don't understand why it was HIAC, it wasn't supposed to be a blow-off to the fued, no it was HIAC for the Bossman, it wasn't going to be brutal, it was being used to keep the two guys in there and for Bossman to knock crapout of Taker, which he did.
The rest of the card is awesome too, one of my favourite Mania's ever, just the build-ups, the swerves everything, it embodied what WWF was at the time.
|
|
redypiper
Main Eventer
bravery over timidity
Joined on: Jun 29, 2005 19:51:33 GMT -5
Posts: 2,948
|
Post by redypiper on Mar 18, 2011 17:50:52 GMT -5
i agree that wrestlemania 15 is a nice showing of 'things to come'. i personally love 14 more, but 15 has it's moments. bigshow chokeslamming mankind threw those chairs was sick too. i like 14 a lot more aswell. |
|
Da Iceman
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Oct 24, 2010 3:28:12 GMT -5
Posts: 129
|
Post by Da Iceman on Mar 21, 2011 4:45:05 GMT -5
Vince Russo shouldn't get the credit, he threw 6 tons of crapat the wall and whatever Vince thought was a good idea actually made it to air. We all see what happens with Vince Russo when Vince Mcmahon isn't there to check him in line. Did Russo help? Yes but I'm sure WWF would have came out on top eventually even without him.
The genius behind the "Attitude" era was never Vince Russo, it was Vince Mcmahon, anyone who says differently is wrong.
|
|
Deleted
Joined on: Nov 17, 2024 10:52:10 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2011 7:05:59 GMT -5
McMahon couldnt have done it on his own though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Barrett on Mar 21, 2011 22:30:43 GMT -5
I've always felt that WM15 and Survivor Series '98 are two of the best examples of a Russo-booked show. I don't mean that in a bad way. I think if you're a fan of the entertainment side of things, then these are great shows to watch. Especially since they have a lot of single-episode story arcs that progress and culminate all within one night, which is rare. I could see why those who favor wrestling over entertainment wouldn't be thrilled with them. As for me? I loved these two shows as a kid, and I do think back fondly on them in a nostalgic way. But I just don't consider WM15 to be up to par with other WMs that came after it. It just lacked that big night feel and didn't feel that different from any other Attitude Era PPV.
|
|
